Fines to follow return of Houston's red-light cameras

Red-light fines will soon resumeCameras will be re-activated as Houston tries to appeal ruling nullifying vote

CHRIS MORAN and JAMES PINKERTON, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Red-light cameras will resume issuing citations "in the very near future," Mayor Annise Parker announced on Wednesday, reversing last November's voter mandate to remove the devices that had issued 800,000 tickets during the previous four years.

A federal judge threw out the election results last month because the petition drive to repeal the ordinance authorizing red-light cameras did not occur within 30 days of its passage, as required by the city charter.

"I clearly understand the will of the voters," Parker said. "They voted to have the cameras removed, but a federal judge has ruled that that election process was invalid, and, because of that, we are in a dilemma."

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The mayor had to choose between honoring the will of the voters and honoring a contract with American Traffic Solutions, which operates 70 cameras at 50 city intersections.

In attempt to do both, Parker said, the city will turn the cameras on, but also ask U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes for permission to appeal his ruling to a higher court. The city needs the judge's approval to appeal before he has ruled on the entire case.

Although Hughes answered the question of the legality of the proposition, he has yet to determine how much money the city owes ATS for breach of contract for having the cameras off since November.

The system has collected $50.5 million in fines since its inception in September 2006. Parker's announcement comes two weeks after City Council passed an annual budget with $100 million in spending cuts.

"Realizing that we have already laid off nearly 750 city employees through a very difficult budget process, I can't in good conscience allow millions of dollars in exposure to ATS under this contract. I have decided that we will turn the cameras on, and we will ask the judge to appeal his ruling," Parker said. Her administration has estimated that canceling the contract could cost the city as much as $16 million.

Opponent furious

Wednesday's announcement provoked the full fury of Paul Kubosh, a lawyer who helped lead the petition drive to get the cameras banned. When reached for comment, he did not even wait for a question. "Start typing!" he said, and launched into a rant criticizing the decision.

"The mayor is going to ask for your vote in November. How can you possibly give her your vote when she does not respect yours?" Kubosh said. "She is not following the will of the citizens of Houston, she is following her own conscience."

Kubosh repeated his accusation that the city shopped the suit in federal court in hopes of an unfavorable ruling that would compel it to turn the cameras back on.

The contract with ATS runs through 2014. Before that contract is extended, Parker said Wednesday, she intends to ask City Council to place another referendum on the ballot asking voters whether the program should continue.

"Anything she says about placating the voters is a lie. You can't believe a word coming out of her mouth when it comes to red-light cameras," Kubosh said. "She's just saying that to appease the voters to try to calm them down a little bit. If she had an opponent the cameras would still be down."

"It's good news because they reduce injuries," Blankinship said. "The data clearly shows that serious injury accidents are reduced in those intersections when the cameras are there."

Blankinship added, "The side-effect is the revenue it produces, but clearly we're not here to be revenue producers for the city – we're here to make the city safer."

Houston Police Department data show that in the five months after cameras were turned off, traffic accidents in the 50 intersections formerly monitored by the cameras decreased 16 percent. At the same time, more motorists are running red lights, according to ATS. The cameras continued to register movement through intersections, but did not take photos or issue citations to violators, a mayor's spokeswoman said.

McClelland will give the go-ahead to start issuing citations after ATS runs tests on the cameras to ensure they function properly. McClelland also will have an analysis done to identify the most accident-prone intersections and redistribute the cameras to cover those intersections.

"ATS is working to immediately reactivate and fully functionalize Houston's red light safety cameras. We look forward to resuming work with the City on this important public safety initiative. As we have seen over the course of the last several years, Houston's red light safety camera program has been successful in changing driver behavior, reducing collisions and ultimately saving lives," according to a statement issued by the Arizona-based company.

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